Close......
Everything - talent, play, coaching, quality of MAC, arena, fan and student support is "close" to getting to that "next" level everyone seeks, but we're not quite there.
Perseverance. That might be the one word going forward. I don't see us making radical changes, and I don't think we can, or should, change leagues. We have to see if KD can keep recruiting on an up-trend and can coach to some post-season wins. KD has talked about a window of opportunity for the program. The next few years will be be very important to Akron athletics in both basketball and football.
I wish I were smart enough to suggest what needs to be done, but the department and the administration seem to have the proper focus on success for the programs.

Sorry, I didn't mean for my comments to attack you personally. My intent was to address the collective psyche of the students, alumni, fans and supporters of the university.
This sitaution is unpleasant on many levels. It causes differnet emotions for different reasons for all of us. None of us like it.
IMO, the best thing we can do is undertand outsiders are going to "pile-on" the story, try to have a thick skin, but, as we expect the players to do, try to be as positive as possible.
Go Zips!!!!!

Uh, I would say this story is pretty big news. We have to expect it's going to be covered, and, perhaps, not to our liking.
No point in obsessing about the coverage as it portratys AA. We should care more about how, guilty or not, the situation AA put himself in has affected his team and the university.
The best way for this to go our way is if the team can rise above it and win the MAC Championship. Let's focus on supporting them as they try to achieve that goal.

People are emotional. That's understandable. However, I keep imagining guest viewers from around the MAC, around the country, looking at this forum and thinking how ignorant or stupid people in Akron must be. It's embarrassing.

I agree that a win in the NCAA against a much higher seed is going to be nearly impossible. Sweet Sixteen was always just a dream though. Possible, but a lot of fantasy too.
However, just getting to the tournament now is a HUGE challenge, but definitly not impossible. We could see these kids rise and play their best ball of the season. Salvaging the MAC Chamionship would be spectacular now.
That's what I choose to focus on.

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!! Spot on. Imagine the challenge in the hearts of the players and coaches. Let's focus on that and band behnd them as they try to find the strength, the will to salvage a season that, up until a few hours ago, was SO promising. GO ZIPS!!!!!!

Please folks, let’s not cause the university further embarrassment by the way we handle ourselves in these forums.
This is shocking news, but very serious charges. To dismiss them as a setup, while possible, is a stretch that only makes us looks like desperately naïve fans. Explaining that he might get off on the charges, while legally relevant, makes it looks like we are fanatics that want him to get off. Wishing ill will on him because he hurt our feelings and let our kids down is unnecessarily vindictive.
Our team’s season has come crashing down. As fans who care about the university it hurts. However, this team, this coaching staff, and these players now face a monumental challenge.
How are they going to rise and face this challenge? Like the team, we as fans need to deal with the new reality and move on.
Let’s rally behind the team rather than debating the guilt or innocence of a kid who was arrested on a charge that was surely taken very seriously by the Akron Police Department.
Sure we’re all in shock and want to talk through this news, but it will be quite an accomplishment if this team can win out. Let’s focus on that. That’s what the team deserves from us now.

Undoubtedly, all UA fans have been generally frustrated with the results of the program for some time. Still, IMO, any talk of dropping to a lower division is crazy and counterproductive.
Why? Because a decision like that has to be taken in the context of the strategic objectives of the larger university, not just the current state of the football program. If UA wants to be a 40,000 enrollment university, it needs (again, IMO) to have athletic programs that garner the media attention needed to be relevant on a big stage too. It needs athletic programs that add to the student experience expected at a university of that size too.
Further, everyone really should look at the link in the topic "New Championship to Feature 6 Bowls". Look at how the NCAA views the world. We are already in a second tier. Do we really want to drop this university to yet a lower tier?
For me, we are where we need to be right now. Can't go higher, and shouldn't go lower.
I'm willing to dig in and give Bowden and Proenza my support to try and achieve their objectives.

Interesting insight from ITZ, and he should know given that he played.
I would imagine that any of the guys (QB or otherwise) who hope to play this season are very eager to interact with the coaches, and to learn where they stand for 2012. It seems certain that Clayton and everyone else are probably very anxious not knowing how the new staff regards them.
Frankly, that is probably exactly what the new coaching staff wants. They want the players to be nervous enough that they have no choice but to feel like they have to work as if they are walk-on freshmen.
I have no experience inside a D1 football program, but this is a pretty common management practice in the business world when new executive management comes in. By keeping people nervous it helps the new management to establish authority, it gives them time to make assessments of the existing environment, and it makes subordinates so nervous that they really focus and perform to their max ability to be sure they get to keep their jobs.
I don't take Clayton not having met one-on-one with TB as problem with Clayton. If TB was ready to meet him, they would have already met. Clayton's probably a lot more nervous than he let on in the interview, and he and the rest of the players are probably extremely anxious for some feedback. They'll get it soon, but until then they can only earn attention by busting their tails in everything they do.
It's going to be interesting to watch how an experienced coach like TB molds the program.

I agree with the comments above.
Which conference is going to invite Akron in as things stand today? IMO, a better conference than the MAC is a fantasy right now.
UA football needs to become a consistent force in the MAC before anything BIG can happen. Then, we can either stay in a stable MAC while gaining national attention, or maybe a better/new conference will take interest when we are winning and drawing large crowds in football, basketball and soccer.
The three best things that can happen to help UA achieve improved national standing - Terry Bowden builds a winning football program, a new basketball arena, and a drive to 40,000 enrollment by 2020 with many more campus-resident students. All three are in process to happen. Good things will come if these plans are properly executed.

Terry Bowden may be overqualified for Akron and the MAC based on his resume and pedigree, but he is working his way back up the coaching ladder.
If he is wildly successful here a richer school will probably outbid Akron to get him at some point. He's at an age where he might want to stay at a place like Akron, but I think he'll jump. Not just for the money either. I would expect a man with his personal and family coaching accomplishments will want to get back to the limelight in a BCS conference.
Who cares if he is hired away to a high profile BCS program? Imagine if 3-4 years from now we are lamenting losing Terry Bowden because Akron football has turned around and is regarded as "wildly successful" in the MAC. I'd love to have that dilemma!
I can't believe I am able to be this excited about Akron football so soon after the two "lost" years. It is great to have legitimate reasons to be optimistic.
Good luck Coach Bowden, and - GO ZIPS!

I thought Thomas put out a good article today. Some on these forums may have already known all of this, but most people in NE Ohio probably did not. Good info for the larger audience.
I'm hoping George steps up this year. Not a bad start.
http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips-notebook-b...arture-1.254760

+1
PD Link
The part about seeking out LO to join his staff will raise a few ZNO members' blood pressures!
Hiring Lee Owens would not bother me at all, but I seriously doubt he would ever consider coming back. Since Bowden is an offensive coach, his biggest challenge is going to be finding a good defensive coordinator. Hopefully we don't get snubbed by DC's the way we were snubbed by most of the HC candidates.
Having the Bowden name immediately makes UA a more attractive destination for coaches in many ways. Plus, ambitious coaches might be thinking that they could work for him at Akron and move up with Bowden if he moves on, or that the Bowden family connections can help them in future career ambitions.
Between Terry and the rest of his family, they must have a nice network from which to recruit assistants for an Akron staff too.